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  • Chevy NCS at Phoenix at Phoenix 1: Chase Elliott Pole Winner Press Conference Transcript

    Chevy NCS at Phoenix at Phoenix 1: Chase Elliott Pole Winner Press Conference Transcript

    Chase Elliott puts CAMARO ZL1 1LE on pole at Phoenix

    AVONDALE, Ariz. (March 7, 2020) – Behind the wheel of his No. 9 Unifirst Camaro ZL1 1LE, Chase Elliott will lead the field to the green in Sunday’s FanShield 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway. Elliott ran a fast speed of 138.116 mph in today’s qualifying session to earn his ninth Cup Series career pole and first of the 2020 season. It marks the eighth time a Hendrick Motorsports driver has won the pole at the 1-mile, low banked oval track located near Phoenix.

    Elliott’s Busch Pole Award was the second of the year for the new Camaro ZL1 1LE, which made its debut at the Daytona season-opener, the 18th pole for Chevrolet at Phoenix Raceway, and 716th for Chevrolet in NASCAR’s premier racing series.

    Kyle Larson, qualified his No. 42 McDonald’s Camaro ZL1 1LE in the fourth position, to give Team Chevy two of the top five spots in the order. Former Phoenix race winner, Kurt Busch, aboard his No. 1 GEARWRENCH Camaro ZL1 1LE was seventh quick; and Alex Bowman, last week’s race winner at Auto Club Speedway, qualified his No. 88 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE in the eighth position.

    Kevin Harvick (Ford) was second-fast, Denny Hamlin (Toyota) was third, and Ryan Blaney (Ford) qualified fifth to round out the top five.

    FOX will telecast the 312-lap race live at 3:30 p.m. EST Sunday, March 8. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

    CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 UNIFIRST CAMARO ZL1 1LE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:

    THERE ARE A LOT OF COMPARISONS TO THE 2018 PACKAGE, BUT STILL SOME SLIGHT DIFFERENCES. DO YOU THINK THE CAR DRIVES LIKE IT DID TWO YEARS AGO?
    “Yeah, it’s really similar. And, like I said, I think Kevin (Harvick) and I were battling for the pole here a couple three races ago, or something. I think the package may have been different from what it is now. I don’t know that it really changes a lot from the car-side of things, or the set-up-side of things, or who is going to be good. I think the same crowd is always going to be tough. You know how it is. I don’t know that it really matters how big the spoiler is. So, hopefully, the race is better for the people watching, but I think the same guys will still be good.”

    DO YOU HAVE TO RE-TRIM THE CAR FOR TOMORROW’S RACE?
    “The cars are impounded. So, we can’t really adjust on them much before tomorrow. So, everybody kind of has what they have for the race. That’s the whole point of this Saturday qualifying procedure. You have to qualify with whatever set-up you’re going to run in the race.”

    JUST LOOKING AHEAD TO ATLANTA, YOUR HOME TRACK, WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS GOING THERE? WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED WITH ANY IMPROVEMENTS YOU’VE MADE ON THE PACKAGE BETWEEN NOW AND NEXT WEEK?
    “Atlanta has been, we started off there and I thought 2016 went really good. That was kind of my first 1.5-mile with the No. 24 team at the time and I thought things went really good. In 2017, we went back and were even better. I thought we had a real chance that day. And then in ’18 and ’19 have been dismal. So, hopefully, this weekend is better and you never want to run bad at your home track. So, hopefully, we can turn that around. It’s been, I feel like, it’s been a rough go the past two years. So, yeah, hopefully, we can improve and be back like we were in 2017.”

    WHAT DO YOU FEEL WILL BE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE TOMORROW, WHETHER IT BE TIRES THE PJ1 OR THE NEW PACKAGE?
    “All of the above, for sure. I think it’s interesting; I was not expecting to run up in the grip there in (Turns) 1 and 2. And then once Kevin did it and a couple of other guys did it, I was watching, and I thought that must be the thing to give it a shot. So, I felt like that was going to give us the best opportunity to win the pole. I thought we could run the bottom and probably have a solid lap, but I don’t know that it would have been a shot at qualifying first. So, I thought it was worth a chance to give it a try. So, I think that’ll be a changing dynamic tomorrow. I think at some point we’ll probably wear it out, and then I would say the guys who are really good around the bottom will probably shine when it comes time for it to really matter.”

    YOU LOOK LIKE YOU’RE IN A SIMILAR POSITION TO ALEX BOWMAN LAST WEEK. IS IT KIND OF LIKE FINGERS CROSSED TO DUPLICATE WHAT HE DID?
    “Not really. For us, I think in my opinion, I don’t think we were very good in race trim yesterday. Our car didn’t drive very good. And we worked really hard on it to try and make it better. So, our mock qualifying run was good, I guess, as far as what the board said, but it was way slower than what we ran today. So, I definitely didn’t have near as much confidence in our race trim runs. We made a lot of changes from yesterday to today. So, I was glad to see the car still had some pace. I hope that means it drives really good tomorrow, but I think until we get there it’s hard to say. Alex was really good last week and did a fantastic job all the way from Friday to Sunday. Those are the kind of weekends you want to have, for sure. Hopefully, we can join him on that.”

    About Chevrolet
    Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

  • Chase Elliott wins pole for Sunday’s race at Phoenix

    Chase Elliott wins pole for Sunday’s race at Phoenix

    Continuing the Hendrick Motorsports momentum in 2020, Chase Elliott qualified on the pole at Phoenix Raceway for the NASCAR Cup Series FanShield 500 with a time of 26.06 seconds/138.116 mph, edging out nine-time Phoenix winner, Kevin Harvick by 0.045 seconds.

    “The line through Turns 1 and 2 was a lot different,” Elliott said. “Kevin (Harvick) kind of made the top line work and then I think after that, everyone saw that and moved up. So, it’s great to get a pole. We’re in a little bit different colors this week with Unifirst on our Camaro. So, I’m excited to grab them a pole. It’s always a good thing when you can put down a fast lap. Hopefully, I just hope tomorrow goes good. That’s always the challenge. We’ll see, and I’m looking forward to it.”

    Meanwhile, last week’s Auto Club 400 winner and Elliott’s teammate, Alex Bowman, qualified in the eighth position for Sunday’s race. Though, this weekend might prove a little bit of a challenge for the hometown native of Tuscon, Arizona.

    “I didn’t expect more,” Bowman said. “I really felt like we’ve been off since we unloaded. We really struggled here in the fall with just being really tight and when we unloaded, we were still really tight. In between practices, we made some changes and got it really loose. It didn’t really necessarily get much faster, but I feel like it’s going to be better that way than when it’s tight. The first lap, I probably over-did it a little bit in turn one there. The second lap, to be eighth, I don’t think that’s the end of the world. I would have liked to be a little better, but as bad as we’ve been here in the fast and as bad as were in practice, we’ll take it. If we could come out of here with a top-ten, I would be high-fiving people after the race. Our short track program, this is the area we need to work on. Our intermediate program is phenomenal and it ended that way last year. Our short track program is the area we need to work on the most.”

    Official Qualifying Results

    1. Chase Elliott
    2. Kevin Harvick
    3. Denny Hamlin
    4. Kyle Larson
    5. Ryan Blaney
    6. Aric Almirola
    7. Kurt Busch
    8. Alex Bowman
    9. Matt DiBenedetto
    10. Kyle Busch
    11. Erik Jones
    12. Martin Truex Jr. (Will start in the rear due to engine change prior to qualifying)
    13. Joey Logano
    14. Brad Keselowski
    15. Christopher Bell
    16. Cole Custer
    17. William Byron
    18. Clint Bowyer
    19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
    20. Ryan Preece
    21. Jimmie Johnson
    22. Michael McDowell
    23. Chris Buescher
    24. Ross Chastain
    25. Ty Dillon
    26. John Hunter Nemechek (Will start in the rear for a radiator change)
    27. Bubba Wallace
    28. Corey LaJoie
    29. Tyler Reddick
    30. Austin Dillon
    31. Daniel Suarez
    32. Brennan Poole
    33. J.J. Yeley
    34. Quin Houff
    35. Reed Sorenson
    36. Garrett Smithley
    37. Joey Gase
    38. Timmy Hill

    The Fan Shield can be seen on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET live on regular FOX. The stages are 75-115-122 equaling 312 laps.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: California

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: California

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Ryan Blaney: Blaney won Stage 2 and suffered a cut tire late in the final stage, which forced a pit stop and left him with a 19th-place finish.

    “Alex Bowman whipped the field by almost nine seconds,” Blaney said. “So mine wasn’t even the biggest ‘blowout’ of the race.”

    2. Joey Logano: Logano finished 12th in the Auto Club 400 at Fontana.

    “It was cool to see Jimmie Johnson honored with the ‘5-Wide Salute,’” Logano said. “Maybe one day, I can receive that same appreciation. I kind of do now. However, my ‘5-Wide Salute’ is five people standing side-by-side giving me the ‘One-Finger Salute.’”

    3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick came home ninth in a mostly uneventful Auto Club 400. He is fourth in the points standings, 12 out of first.

    “My ‘Kyle Busch Bounty’ really has people talking about the Gander Truck Series,” Harvick said. “And it has people talking more about Kyle Busch, which is actually what I was trying to avoid.”

    4. Alex Bowman: Bowman led 110 laps at Fontana and held off Kyle and Kurt Busch late to ease to victory in the Auto Club 400.

    “I promised a friend I’d get an ’88’ tattoo if I won,” Bowman said. “I’m sure people will have a lot of questions when they see my tattoo, like, ‘Cool, are you’re a Dale, Jr. fan”‘”

    5. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson started second and finished seventh at Fontana.

    “I was honored with a ‘Five-Wide Salute’ during the warmup laps,” Johnson said. I’m really digging this farewell tour. I mean really digging it. It’s quite a turn-on actually. You could say I now have a ‘fete fetish.’”

    6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished fifth at Fontana, scoring his first top-five result of the season.

    “Good news,” Keselowski said. “NASCAR is transitioning to single lug nut wheels in 2021. In hockey, that would be a ‘one-timer.’ In baseball, it’s a ‘single.’ In basketball, it’s a ‘one-and-done.’”

    7. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started at the back of the field and forged his way forward to finish sixth at Fontana, posting his second top-10 of the season.

    “We started at the back because we pitted to change a shock absorber on the warmup laps,” Hamlin said. “Little did we know that the real shock ‘absorber’ would be Kyle Larson’s rear bumper.”

    8. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished fourth at California, recording his first top-five of the season. He is sixth in the points standings, 17 out of first.

    “I was just named brand ambassador for Hooters Spirits,” Elliott said. “In case you’re wondering, Hooters Spirits is not a haunted Hooter’s restaurant, where the waitresses might say ‘Boo(b)!’ It’s a line of Hooter’s alcoholic beverages. Look for them on shelves. Or better yet, look for them on racks.”

    9. Matt DiBenedetto: DiBenedetto continued his strong start to the season, posting a 13th at Fontana, and is eighth in the points standings.

    “You could say I’m ‘running with the big dogs,’” DiBenedetto said. “And as they say, ‘If you can’t run with the big dogs, stay off the porch.’ Well, I’m a big dog, and I’m gonna stay on that porch, and probably ‘leave my mark.’”

    10. Kyle Busch: Busch finished second in the Auto Club 400, scoring his first top-five result after two lackluster efforts to begin the season.

    “Alex Bowman beat me by almost nine seconds,” Busch said. “In racing, that’s an eternity. So, if you ask how badly I was beaten, I’ll tell you ‘from there to eternity.’

    “As for bounties on me, I say ‘Bring ’em on.’ I don’t mind being the hunted, just as I don’t mind being the bad guy. I’m not here to be liked. You’ve heard of Formula 1, right? Well, for me, it’s not ‘F1,’ it’s ‘F everyone.’”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Las Vegas

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Las Vegas

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Joey Logano: Logano took the win in the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas, staying on the track during a late caution to secure the win.

    “My crew chief Paul Wolfe said to pit,” Logano said, “but I didn’t hear him, so I stayed out. Now, a lot of people are telling me I should have my ears checked, most notably Kurt Busch’s cosmetic surgeon.”

    2. Ryan Blaney: Blaney seemed headed to victory at Las Vegas before Ross Chastain’s spin brought out the caution with six laps to go. Blaney hit the pits, but Joey Logano stayed out to steal the win. Blaney finished 11th and leads the points standings.

    “I guess we should have stayed out,” Blaney said. “It was a regrettable decision, but we can always learn from our mistakes. As a team, we usually meet and discuss the big mistakes we’ve made. We call it the ‘craps!’ table.”

    3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished eighth at Las Vegas and is third in the Cup series points standings.

    “Compared to Daytona,” Harvick said, “this race was pretty boring. There were no huge crashes, no photo finish, and no President taking a lap. So apparently, what happens in Daytona stays in Daytona.”

    4. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Stenhouse finished third in the Pennzoil 400 and is fifth in the Cup points standings.

    “It’s early in the season,” Stenhouse said. “I know because I’m fifth in the points standings.

    “But I believe I can keep it going, because I believe in myself, and unlike Aaron Rodgers, I believe in God. I don’t think Danica Patrick shared my faith. Clearly, she was less in tune with the ‘heavenly father,’ and more in tune with ‘Go Daddy.’”

    5. Kyle Larson: Larson finished ninth in the Pennzoil 400.

    “The members of the 1980 Olympics gold medal-winning hockey team served as grand marshals,” Larson said. “The last time this sport experienced a ‘Miracle On Ice,’ was when Jeremy Mayfield was able to drive while high on meth.”

    6. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 17th at Las Vegas.

    “It was a tough day for Joe Gibbs Racing,” Hamlin said. “No one finished better than 15th. So, you could say, here in Las Vegas, JGR went ‘bust.’ In other words, it was a case of ‘Toyota-ta‘s.’”

    7. Chase Elliott: Elliott won the first 2 stages at Las Vegas, but suffered a flat tire with 50 laps remaining, which ruined any chance for the win. Elliott eventually finished 26th, one lap down, and is seventh in the points standings.

    “I was dominating the race,” Elliott said. “My chances of winning the race were high, then, ‘Poof!,’ it all came crashing to a halt. It was the epitome of the phrase ‘Odds and ends.’”

    8. Austin Dillon: Dillon finished fourth at Las Vegas after posting a 12th in the Daytona 500. He is sixth in the points standings.

    “Did you see Michael Waltrip in the ‘Between Two Buschs’ segment on Fox’s pre-race coverage?” Dillon said. “Michael looked stoned. If his brother Darrell did the ‘Ickey Shuffle,’ then Michael must be doing the ‘Sticky Ickey Shuffle.’”

    9. Matt DiBenedetto: DiBenedetto took the runner-up spot in Las Vegas in just his second race with Wood Brothers Racing.

    “Obviously,” DiBenedetto said, “staying on the track during that late caution was the right call. And Ryan Blaney and William Byron learned a hard lesson about taking new tires. So, to all those who believe you should always take fresh rubber during a caution, well, they just need to ‘get a grip.’”

    10. Kyle Busch: Busch finished 14th on a tough day for Joe Gibbs Racing, who failed to place a driver in the top 10.

    “I’ve won seven consecutive Truck Series races,” Busch said. “And Kevin Harvick has offered a $50,000 bounty to any full-time Cup driver who beats me in the next four races. Harvick can take that money and shove it, right back into his bank account because no one’s going to claim it.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin won the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas in a cut-off race that narrowed the field to eight drivers.

    “Anytime it’s an elimination race,” Hamlin said, “things can get crazy. So, even though this race was sponsored by Hollywood Casino, ‘all bets were off.’”

    2. Kyle Busch: Busch took third in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas.

    “This is the time of year when pressure builds,” Busch said. “That was evident in Saturday’s Xfinity race when Daniel Hemric and Cole Custer were involved in an altercation. Things got physical, and a little sexy, because the ‘fight’ was really just a very intense hug.”

    3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished sixth in the Hollywood Casino 400 and joins Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin in the Playoff Round of 8.

    “It’s me, Denny, and Kyle,” Truex said. “Some people would call that ‘Two Men And A Baby.’”

    4. Kevin Harvick: Inspection issues forced Harvick to start 40th but he worked his way through the field to post a ninth. He heads to Round 3 of the Playoffs in fifth, 18 out of first.

    “I didn’t even get to qualify,” Harvick said. “But there’s something cool about starting at the back of the field. Starting at the ‘ass-end’ of the field, you get a true perspective of the ‘ass-end’ of talent in this series.”

    5. Kyle Larson: Larson finished 14th in the Hollywood Casino 400 and is seventh in the Playoff points standings, 35 out of first.

    “I had a run-in with the lapped car of Joey Gase,” Larson said. “He was in my way and I needed to be somewhere, so I moved him. It’s football season so I gave Joey the ‘punt, the pass, and the kick (to the curb).’”

    6. Joey Logano: Logano survived a late accident and slide through the grass to finish 17th at Kansas and advanced to the Round of 8, where he’ll be the sole representative of Penske Racing.

    “I feel like it’s me against the world,” Logano said. “So, I’m gonna go out there and be a ‘world beater.’ Unfortunately, no one will care, because the general opinion of me is a ‘world of indifference.’”

    7. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished second at Kansas which was good enough to secure the final playoff spot.

    “That was close,” Elliott said, “and I get the cigar. And, as the kids say, it was ‘lit.’”

    8. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished 21st at Kansas and heads to Martinsville eighth in the Playoff points standings.

    “I’m last among the eight drivers in the Playoff field,” Blaney said. “I feel like I’m the forgotten driver in the Playoffs. But I very well could quietly sneak in and eliminate the rest of the field. Then you could call me ‘champion,’ and Kurt Busch could call me ‘assassin.’”

    9. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 18th at Kansas and narrowly missed advancing to the next round of the Playoffs.

    “Had a late caution came out just a fraction of a second later,” Keselowski said, “I’d be in the Playoff field. But we all know NASCAR wanted that extra restart. I’d like a do-over because I have some ‘un-finish-ed’ business I’d like to take care of.”

    10. William Byron: Byron finished fifth at Kansas and failed to make the Playoff Round of 8.

    “You probably heard about the flock of birds flying into the NASCAR Hall Of Fame,” Byron said. “I guess they really wanted to get in. But come on birds, show some manners. Don’t you know, ‘Birds of a feather knock together.’”

  • Elliott leads the way, wins pole at Talladega as Hendrick sweeps top four spots

    Elliott leads the way, wins pole at Talladega as Hendrick sweeps top four spots

    Chase Elliott claimed the Busch Pole Award at Talladega Superspeedway Saturday evening while his teammates followed for a Hendrick Motorsports sweep of the top four starting positions.

    His qualifying lap of 192.707 mph earned Elliott his fourth pole of the season and his eighth career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pole. It was his second pole at the 2.66-mile track. Elliott also won the spring race at the track and is hoping for a repeat.

    When asked about the odds of winning again, he was optimistic but is not taking anything for granted.

    “To me, I feel like our car has pace, which is a good thing,” Elliott replied.

    “Typically in these races, cars that have pace tend to kind of set the standard and are able to do some things that you wouldn’t be able to do if your car didn’t have pace. I would much rather have pace on my side than not.

    “Can you still win without those little extra things here and there? Yes. But I do think it is a good thing to have if you do. And luckily, I feel like our car does. Hopefully it drives well tomorrow. And, I’m sure as we start the race, we’ll see some gamesmanship being played amongst the manufacturers and I’m sure that’ll form-up very quickly.”

    Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman (192.552 mph), William Byron (192.258 mph) and Jimmie Johnson (191.566 mph) will follow Elliott in the lineup after qualifying second, third and fourth.

    Byron is hoping the teammates can stay up front together.

    “I’ve got three teammates behind but then not a lot of Chevrolets back behind that for a little while,” he noted. “So, there are a bunch of other guys stacked in between us. So, we’ll see. I’m sure these games will be played pretty early. And hopefully we can stay up front and grab some stage points and hopefully get a win.”

    Ford drivers Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Clint Bowyer, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano rounded out the top-10 qualifiers.

    Logano spoke about the significance of the car manufacturers working together.

    “We’ve got to stay open to doing what our competition is doing and trying to do what they do better than them. That’s what we’ve got to try to do, but it seems like now more than ever the teamwork aspect has really come into play more than it’s ever been,” Keselowski said. “I say teamwork, not just Penske – we’re talking about all the Fords or all the Chevys or Toyotas. Everyone really seems to be committed to each other and it’s really changed the game a lot.”

    Of the remaining playoff drivers, Kyle Larson will start 12th, Kevin Harvick 15th, Martin Truex Jr. 18th, Kyle Busch 26th and Denny Hamlin will start in 40th after an engine failure during qualifying.

    You can tune into Sunday’s 1000Bulbs.com 500 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

  • Hendrick Motorsports Playoff drivers are likeliest to advance following Talladega Playoff event

    Hendrick Motorsports Playoff drivers are likeliest to advance following Talladega Playoff event

    Despite being behind in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup win column, Chevrolets face the likeliest chance to succeed at Talladega for Sunday’s 1000Bulbs.com 500 Playoff event. The 2.66-mile superspeedway is no stranger to upset winners, but if the April event is any indicator then not only do the Hendrick Chevrolets face the likeliest chance of winning, they’re also the likeliest to carry on the recent Bowtie winning streak but also advance to the Playoff Round of Eight.

    Chase Elliott – His Daytona results notwithstanding, Elliott is showing to be a steady performer on the superspeedways. Along with his April victory in Alabama, he holds three top-fives and three top-10s. It may not seem like much in seven starts, but in the races where he held a dismal finish including his two DNFs in 2017, he has always run near the front including leading 26 laps before a hard crash in the Fall 2017 event.

    Still, with two of his three teammates also in the Playoffs as well as the performance of teammate Alex Bowman in the Spring, Elliott could be leading the charge to get out of the Playoff rut his last-place finish at Dover has left him in.

    Alex Bowman – 2019 has become the defining year of Bowman’s Cup Series career. It has been a breakout in every sense of the word – one win, six top-fives, 10 top-10s, and a comfortable spot in the seventh slot in the standings. Bowman isn’t satisfied, however, and with Talladega around the corner, a track where he finished second to teammate Elliott in April, he could be kicking his Playoff campaign into high gear and showing the rest of the field that the No. 88 Greg Ives-led crew could be the team to beat in the Playoffs.

    Bowman and Elliott proved themselves to be a formidable duo in the Spring, not unlike the early 00s’ when Dale Earnhardt Incorporated drivers Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were winning every other race at Talladega. Should Bowman or Elliott win at Talladega, then it could be the dawn of a new era in NASCAR.

    William Byron – Byron’s 2019 Playoff campaign is showing zero signs of a sophomore slump. If anything, it shows that Hendrick Motorsports is catching up in leaps and bounds with the rest of the field, currently led by the Team Penske Fords and the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas. He’s scored five poles already, with three top-fives (including a second at Daytona in July) and 11 top-10s to boot.

    He’s only in his second full-time Cup Series campaign, so his previous Talladega results can be chalked up as educational experiences. Same thing goes with his Daytona results, although he has led 56 laps at the 2.5-mile Superspeedway. But one thing to take into account for the Chad Knaus-led No. 24 team is momentum. Byron has been quietly consistent, having finished in the top-25 in every race this season. Granted, that doesn’t equate to wins, but still, quiet consistency is better than no consistency. He could be a sleeper at Talladega, if not in the Playoffs overall. He could have a run equivalent to Ryan Newman’s in 2014 if the could just keep up with the consistency.

    Although those drivers are the only Hendrick Chevrolets in the Playoffs at this moment, there are other drivers to consider for the win in Sunday’s race. Talladega is well-known for upset winners, and although rookie Ryan Preece is not a Playoff driver, he’s been stout on the superspeedways in 2019. He was in contention to win the Daytona 500 late in the going before being shuffled back to eighth, for one.

    But it was his Talladega performance in April which could translate to a win on Sunday, as the No. 47 was able to latch onto the Hendrick Motorsports train of Elliott and Bowman en route to a third-place finish in the final order. His JTG-Daugherty Racing No. 47 is also powered by Hendrick engines, and given their proclivity for running up front on the superspeedways, he could very well put his car at the front in Sunday’s event. Preece is definitely the dark horse pick for the 1000Bulbs.com 500.

    The 1000Bulbs.com 500 will be on NBC on Sunday, October 13, at 2 p.m.

  • Spin and win for Elliott at Charlotte Roval

    Spin and win for Elliott at Charlotte Roval

    Chase Elliott came back to win the Charlotte Roval by passing Kevin Harvick late for the lead. But it wasn’t easy. With 45 to go on a restart, he spun into the tire barrier while leading the race. However, with perseverance and a couple of lucky breaks, he found his way to victory lane.

    “I really just messed up,” Elliott described to PRN Radio. “I made a mistake that you should never really make. I’m not sure if you can do anything more stupid leading one of these races. Take lessons and don’t do that. Odds are, I don’t know how it didn’t hurt it (car). I hit the wall pretty hard. Guys did a good job fixing it, luckily our splitter was still close to the ground and got it done. I’m just wowed. As wowed as anybody out there.”

    The Charlotte Roval was the final race in the Round of 16 playoffs and that meant four drivers would be eliminated from the Playoffs. At the start of the race, a few drivers had to go to the back. Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman and Parker Kligerman had to start at the rear of the field because they had to go to backup cars, Landon Cassill for unapproved adjustments and J.J. Yeley for making a driver change. Martin Truex Jr. also had an engine change at the end of final practice.

    Stage 1: Lap 1- Lap 25

    The Charlotte Roval provided action on the first lap as Bowman missed the backstretch chicane and spun out. Truex missed it as well and had to stop on the front stretch. A couple of laps later, Bowman and Bubba Wallace had to serve a pass-through penalty for not stopping after the incident.

    The first caution waved on Lap 21, as the No. 47 of Ryan Preece wheel hopped the chicane on the backstretch. From there, a caution flew just a few laps before the first stage ended for a major pileup. Jimmie Johnson, Bowman, Erik Jones, Hamlin, Kurt Busch and Chris Buescher all wrecked in Turn 1 after a restart.

    With the incident, Stage 1 ended under yellow with Kyle Larson as the winner. William Byron, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top-10 finishers in the first stage. Larson was penalized for pitting outside the box under the stage break.

    Stage 2 began on Lap 27 and went to Lap 50.

    A few notable incidents happened in the second stage. Logano made a pit stop on Lap 37 before he came back to pit road after hitting a tire barrier in Turn 3. Then quite possibly one of the most notable incidents occurred on Lap 43, as Bowman retaliated against Wallace by wrecking him out on the chicane.

    A seven-lap dash was set up for the ending of Stage 2. This time it was Chase Elliott with the win. Keselowski, Bowyer, Johnson, Harvick, Michael McDowell, Truex, Suarez, Paul Menard and Byron were the top finishers in the second stage.

    Stage 3: Lap 54- Lap 109

    A lot happened in the final stage. On Lap 61, the No. 8 of Daniel Hemric spun around in Turn 14 to bring out the yellow. Then a pivotal moment came in the race. With 45 to go on the restart, Elliott locked up the tires in Turn 1 and went sliding into the wall. However, he somehow managed to get away with little damage.

    Another incident came on another restart with 43 to go, as Kyle Busch had a flat left front tire after making contact with Larson. Busch’s day went from bad to worse by being caught for driving through too many pit boxes. Then he was served a penalty.

    Pit stops started to begin with 35 to go. However, Harvick cycled out as the leader with 29 to go. Just as soon as the stops ended, a caution was flown with 25 to go for Matt Tifft who went spinning around in Turns 5 and 6. Another caution was also seen with 21 to go, as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. went spinning in the backstretch chicane.

    On Lap 92 the eighth caution came out for a major accident with Hamlin, Newman, Preece and Menard in Turn 6. However, the term “cautions breed cautions” came into effect late in the race. Two more cautions were seen before the race was over. One was for the No. 41 of Suarez after contact with Newman. The final one was for an accident in Turn 8 for an incident involving Kurt Busch, Chris Buescher, Newman and Preece.

    Due to an extensive cleanup, NASCAR was forced to fly the red flag with six laps remaining.

    Elliott made the pass on Harvick with six laps to go after the restart and held on to win his third race of the season.

    “It was one of the hottest races of the year for sure,” Elliott added to PRN Radio. “Was trying to make up as much time as I could. Obviously, I wasn’t going to catch Kevin (Harvick) without a caution. Just caught the cautions at the right time and had a couple of restarts that were mediocre I thought and the last two were really good. Luckily it felt like that, that’s not always me. You know, the timing and that, things kind of went our way.”

    “Just appreciate the effort, what a win for Hendrick Motorsports right over at the home track for a lot of guys. Nonetheless, it feels a lot like it. Just a big thanks to everyone making this happen and we’ll go on to at Dover.”

    Elliott led four times for 35 laps and picked up six playoff points.

    There were 10 cautions for 23 laps and 13 lead changes among nine drivers.

    Four drivers were eliminated from competing for the championship. Aric Almirola, Erik Jones, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman will not move forward in the Playoffs.

    Making it to the Round of 12 are Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Clint Bowyer, William Byron, Ryan Blaney and Alex Bowman.

    Official Results

    1. Chase Elliott, won Stage 2, led 35 laps
    2. Alex Bowman
    3. Kevin Harvick, led 34 laps
    4. Clint Bowyer
    5. Brad Keselowski
    6. William Byron, led 23 laps
    7. Martin Truex Jr., led one lap
    8. Ryan Blaney
    9. Jimmie Johnson
    10. Joey Logano, led four laps
    11. Matt DiBenedetto
    12. Michael McDowell
    13. Kyle Larson, won Stage 1
    14. Aric Almirola
    15. Ty Dillon
    16. Paul Menard
    17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
    18. Chris Buescher
    19. Denny Hamlin
    20. Kurt Busch
    21. Ryan Preece
    22. Ross Chastain
    23. Austin Dillon
    24. Bubba Wallace
    25. Matt Tifft
    26. Parker Kligerman
    27. Corey LaJoie
    28. Landon Cassill
    29. J.J. Yeley
    30. Timmy Hill
    31. Joe Nemechek
    32. Ryan Newman
    33. Daniel Hemric
    34. Daniel Suarez, one lap down
    35. David Ragan, one lap down
    36. Garrett Smithely, OUT, Axle
    37. Kyle Busch, OUT, Suspension
    38. Josh Bilicki, OUT, Suspension
    39. Reed Sorenson, OUT, Electrical
    40. Erik Jones, OUT, Crash

    Up Next: Now that the Round of 16 had concluded, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers head to Dover International Speedway next Sunday, Oct. 6 for the beginning of the Round of 12.

  • Blaney and Elliott earn top-10 finishes, playoff bound

    Blaney and Elliott earn top-10 finishes, playoff bound

    Consistency is why Ryan Blaney did not have to worry about making the Playoffs. The No. 12 team had no wins coming into the Indy race but had seven top fives and 11 top-10 finishes.

    Blaney qualified ninth at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was fairly consistent all afternoon during the Big Machine Vodka 400. He finished fourth in Stage 1 and third in Stage 2. The No. 12 driver even took the lead at one point off the restart and led once for 19 laps. Unfortunately, it would be the only time Blaney would be in the lead. Even with a few late-race yellows, they weren’t enough and left the Team Penske driver frustrated with a seventh-place finish.

    “Lost the lead when the caution came out on the pit stop cycle and not going to pass anybody,” Blaney frustratingly said to PRN Radio. “So, whoever was in the lead was the best car. We lost the lead and that was pretty much it.”

    Blaney will be seeded 12th in the Playoff standings.

    Chase Elliott, on the other hand, had quite an eventful day from the start. During the first caution, Elliott was bumped from behind and turned around on pit road. He was fairly quiet all day, not scoring any stage points and trying to make ground up. With the late-race cautions and the way pit strategy played out, Elliott claimed the ninth position after contact early on.

    “It was pretty much destroyed,” Elliott described to PRN Radio about his car. “Our NAPA team did a nice job to somehow piece it back together. The splitter is gone on the left front and the right side, I tore it off later. So yeah it was a long day. We kind of just had to fight and came with a top-10. All things considered, I thought it was okay.”

    Elliott is seeded seventh in the playoff grid.

  • Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney score solid runs at Bristol

    Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney score solid runs at Bristol

    Chase Elliott debuted a new paint scheme featuring Hooters Spirits Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway in his eighth start at the track. He was hoping to bring home a popular win for the fans.

    It all started with qualifying on Friday afternoon with Elliott qualifying sixth. He was consistently strong throughout the race, even leading at some points.

    In Stage 1, the Georgia native finished second while he finished sixth in Stage 2. Elliott avoided the accidents and kept his car clean for the most part. On Lap 131, he took the lead and led for 33 laps, the only time he led the race. However, Elliott was up front late on the final restart, before making slight contact with Erik Jones.

    Elliott had to slow down and swerve to miss Jones which caused him to lose some momentum and he was never able to get back up to the front to fight for the win. In the end, the Hendrick Motorsports driver finished sixth for his 10th top-10 of the 2019 season.

    “We were a little off from being perfect all weekend,” Elliott said to PRN Radio. “The guys did a great job in the pits. you know we had track position all night long, I just never did anything with it really. Executed really nice, just needed to do a little bit better to do something. We kept lining up on the top, kept gaining spots on pit road, that’s all you could ask for.”

    While it was a quiet night for Elliott, Ryan Blaney had an adventurous night that saw him finish 10th.

    Blaney fought multiple challenges throughout the night. The first challenge came on Lap 231 when he had to check up to avoid making contact with the 52 of Kyle Weatherman. Blaney was also involved in a big wreck on Lap 373 as he shot straight up the track when a right-front tire went down.

    Despite Blaney being caught up in a wreck, he was able to rebound to a 10th place finish in what had been a long night.

    “Multiple things, but not wrecking,” Blaney explained to PRN Radio about his night. “Got in a big wreck right there, cut a right front (tire). Just misjudging where the 8 (Hemric) was. Throughout the race, I just kind of got loose and cut my right front. I think it blew his left rear too. I got into a big pileup there, but luckily we were able to fix it. Just keeping up with the racetrack and struggling a little bit, I’ll have to do better next time.”

    The 10th place finish was Blaney’s 11th top-10 finish of 2019.